When Technology Fails (Revised & Expanded): A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency

However, I had the feeling while reading the book was that it was written by Abby (Dharma's mother from Dharma & Greg). Great, pragmatic information is tainted with pseudo-science nonsense and newage garbage. Most of which is harmless, but some of it may be downright dangerous.

For example, there is a half page editorial on the moral issues of hunting followed some pages later by a long discussion of tanning. There is a story of how blessing water turned undrinkable swill into sweet healing water. There's enough folk and eastern medical advice to make your head swim.

If you believe everything you read, this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you can discern the likely from the silly, you might find this book useful.


A good read for the wary -   February 29, 2004
EmBee (Oregon, United States)
122 out of 129 found this review helpful

This is a great book about preparing for short-term societal or environmental crises - how to conserve water when the water's not running (after a hurricane, say), how to stay warm and safe when the ice-storm of the century wipes out your natural gas and electricity, or an earthquake shakes your house down around your ears in the middle of the night.
The true beauty of this book is the wealth of information for longer-term "doing without," or slow erosion of a situation of plenty we now take for granted. Here is information on dealing with medical problems when no doctor is forthcoming, growing food organically and with your own saved seed, how you might store food over the winter with no refrigerator.

If we lost the luxury of the machines that run our world, would we find ourselves back in the stone age, having lost the knowledge handed down for generations beyond count of how to shelter, clothe, feed and doctor ourselves? These skills are all touched on in this book, with voluminous resource lists so that the reader can learn more about any of these subjects.

Technology, too, is given its due - renewable energy sources like solar and wind are discussed and the best water filters on the market.

Change is coming. That's apparent. If you're worried, wary - this is a good book, a jumping-off place to learn skills you may some day be very thankful for, or at least gather a library of relevant information against the day when it is needed. Survivalist paranoia not required.


Good information, not all is practical or needed   December 29, 2005
Maria (Plantation, FL)
117 out of 132 found this review helpful

There is a lot of good information in this book, especially good are the reference and resource areas and websites the author includes.

With that said, I found a lot of stuff that simply wasn't practical or necessary to have. Some questions I have after reading it are: Where would the average person store that roughly 1200 lbs of grain, 240 lbs of legumes, 200 lbs of dairy, etc, etc. needed for a family of 4 to survive a year? And what would you do at the end of the year when you had eaten all your food? Also the average uban dweller probably isn't likely to be able to drill their own well for drinking water. And what about your neighbors? Is it really practical to expect that they would let you eat drink and be merry while the whole village starved?

Some of the things the author lists for survival also seem ridiculous. How about the condom that you can put in a sock to create a water bottle. Why not just keep a couple water bottles around? He lists a compass and matches and candles. Unless you are planning to do hiking in previously unnavigated areas, the compass seems not necessary. Candles and matches! I live in South Florida where we get a lot of power outages from hurricanes- the last one left us without electricity for two weeks. My best suggestion is a couple really good flash lights (battery powered and solar) and some solar lanterns and stock up on those batteries.

I couldn't decide if this book was for the end of the world, a nuclear attack, or a beginning primer to for the end of fossil fuels. This book seemed more like a hodge podge of other more succinct works giving the most extreme examples.

Since we aren't at the end of the world yet, there are lots of ways to reduce your personal dependence on the modern electrical grid. If we all do this collectively, then a manual like this becomes less necessary. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs- 1/4 the energy usage- lasts 10x as long. Get a tankless water heater or one that is solar powered. Turn off your lights and unplug your appliances when you aren't using them. Buy appliances that have an energystar rating. Plant some trees- they will give you shade and soak up some of that carbon modern societies love to emit. Plant some vegetables. Compost & buy a rain catcher for plant irrigation. Recycle everything! Buy a hybrid car. Plan your shopping excursions to maximize your time out driving. ETC, ETC. And most importantly demand an energy policy that works from your elected officials!

You can also buy those appliances that won't leave you stranded if there is an extended outage. Solar cookers, gas grills, solar refrigerators, and like I noted earlier the flash lights and solar lanterns. Stock up on some water and non perishible items if you live in a place that gets hit with hurricanes.

So, in sum, while this book gives a lot of good advice, its not very concise and also gives you a lot of info that you won't likely need.


Broader in scope than most survival books   October 30, 2001
John (Gisborne, Victoria Australia)
53 out of 56 found this review helpful

Matthew Stein has written a clear, concise book on the subject of survival that, while educating, also does what few others have managed to do - entertain and engage the reader.

Throughout the book you'll find personal stories accompanying the text to further illustrate or drive home a point. The use of these asides brings you into Matthew Stein's life, as he recounts personal stories of survival and tells the stories of others who have managed to overcome the odds to survive.

Not just a survival book, Matthew also covers topics like alternative therapies; how to create a survival mindset; survival strategies; renewable energy; companion gardening; prophecies etc. as well as all the regular topics found in such books - edible plants; first aid; making a survival kit; growing, hunting and foraging; making tools; creating shelters; spinning/weaving/tanning etc.

The book has some great illustrations that make plant identification and first aid that much easier to understand and each chapter finishes with a reference section listing books (along with a short review) and resources (with web addresses where available).

This book is supposed to have been 15 years in the making - and the time and effort taken by the author to research his topic really shows. When Technology Fails belongs in your survival library - as the publisher says, "it's a user-friendly manual for the 21st Century".


A Wealth of Diverse and Useful Information   January 29, 2001
30 out of 31 found this review helpful

The content of this book is diverse and well researched. One of the strengths of this books is the vast amount of information it covers in an easily accessible way. It is like a tour through many alternatives to our traditional technological solutions. It gives you a view into such topics as low-tech healing, alternative shelters, power, heating, effective methods for growing food, tool making, and much, much more. If you need to know more about any particular topic you will find an abundance of references at the end of chapter.

The title "When Technology Fails" does not seem to fit the content well. The book does have a few sections on emergency preparation, procedures, and first-aid, but that is clearly not the heart of this book. It is also not an anti-technology book. It is full of technological solutions, however they are low-tech and earth friendly technologies. This book is much more about our future and how we can live using much more earth friendly and sustainable practices. Chapter 2, "Present Trends, Possible Futures," is a MUST read for everyone. Stein shows the reader, very clearly, how we can all still live in relative comfort AND dramatically reduce our impact on the environment.

The book is very well written with many examples and illustrations to highlight his teachings. Its is also a fun read, which is unusual for a "how to" manual. There are many beautiful and powerful quotes and several ideas that will challenge your thinking. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.